(Memphis) The power struggle between the old Memphis and Shelby County school boards rages on with the educations of many children caught in the middle of personal conflicts.
MCS will cease to exist in four months.
With the clock ticking, the Unified Shelby County School board members are just over halfway done with the Transition Planning Commissions recommendations on how to run schools.
“The execution of that is an administrative function. As far as the bard being involved in the day to day operations that’s not a board function,” said board member Martavious Jones.
Instead of focusing on hiring a superintendent to do that or other big budgetary items, the twenty-three member board is focusing on what to name the expanded Shelby county school district .
That’s a decision that has no impact on what happens inside the classroom.
Jones says Memphis should be in the name, even though they surrendered their charter.
“Memphis is seventy-two percent of Shelby County. Memphians have always been Shelby Countians. So it’s not like we’re becoming a part of something we never apart of,” said Jones.
“The only name that matters is surrender. When you surrender you give up your negotiating power and you give up your right to call the entity whatever,” replied school board member Kenneth Whallum Jr.
Whallum says the mega school board members are just squabbling over petty issues to be right, and forgetting about the big tasks that directly impact education.
“It appears to have gotten personal for the leaders of the various factions,” said Whallum.
Whallum says the 23 member board needs to stay away from issues that will only inflame the community, like a school name, and leave those things up to the 7 member unified school board that will take over complete control of the schools in July.
The other 14 members from the old Memphis and Shelby county boards will then leave office.
Whallum says a federal judge ordered them to maintain stability and wind down MCS until the 7 member board takes over.
He says tackling inflaming issues will violate that order.